Joe Hindy

Crossword Guru Axel Ruepp

German Crossword Guru Axel Ruepp Talks Shop About Creating Crosswords

“The possibilities aren’t infinite and the puzzle has to be solvable.”

The crossword puzzle has been around for over 100 years and has undergone many evolutions over the years. Over that time, many people have spent their lives creating puzzles for the amusement of others. One such person is Axel Reupp, who has been creating crosswords for over 30 years. He owns a company that supplies puzzles for a variety of German publishers and knows a thing or two about creating them.

Reupp—who started making puzzles in his university days— sat down with DW.com to conduct an interview and talk about the process of creating crossword puzzles. These days, most of the work is done with a computer but Reupp says there is still plenty for humans to do too.

“The biggest mistake is when you forget a clue,” said Reupp. “For example, there’s a five-letter word but no definition. That’s always unfortunate and it upsets people. You could have an actual mistake in the puzzle.”

It’s a challenge all puzzle creators deal with, even the famous Will Shortz from the New York Times commits them on occasion. By Shortz own admission, readers catch about a dozen or so errors per year in the New York Times crossword. Some errors are trivial, like misspelling a word in the clue while others are unintentional. In some cases, clues and answers can simply be wrong. One such example is the Aug. 19, 2006 NYT crossword that incorrectly asks for the backup singers for Booker T and the MG’s, who were a strictly instrumental band.

Reupp goes on to explain that new words and clues are always important but that there has to be a balance between challenge and solvability. After all, people don’t have fun if they can’t solve the puzzle.

“A crossword has to be a challenge but a solvable one,” Reupp explains. “The possibilities aren’t and the puzzle has to be solvable. I can’t ask for the name of a 13th-century philologist that no one has ever heard of.”

As it turns out, Arthur Wynne, creator of the first crossword published in New York World in 1913, would make an excellent crossword clue, even in Germany.

“We could use that sure,” Reupp said. “If it gets asked often enough, people will know it eventually.”

Some other crosswords are renown for their difficulty. The Saturday edition of The New York Times and Newsday crosswords along with the Monday variant of the New Yorker’s crossword are among the most difficult that you can get in publication. The New York Times even has a book of 50 of the most difficult crosswords that NYT has ever published.

Reupp and his company also work on number puzzles, celebrity puzzles, and other types as new trends emerge.

LG Hamburg Court verdict on NYTimes rights to Wordle in Germany

A small puzzle maker from Hamburg, Germany, secured the name Wordle in Germany the same day the New York Times bought the puzzle.

The New York Times has been on a crusade in 2024 to stop people from using the name Wordle. It seems the company has hit a snag in Germany after courts rejected the company’s claim to the name.

As the story goes, German puzzle maker Stefan Heine secured the rights to Wordle in Germany the same day that the New York Times purchased Wordle from its original investor for an undisclosed sum. Josh Wardle—the original inventor—had previously published the game for free on his personal website and hadn’t copyrighted the name before the American publisher bought it.

The New York Times took Heine to court to make him stop using the name. Its biggest argument is that Heine registered the name under the publisher’s nose to keep them from competing in Germany. Heine denied filing the trademark in bad faith and even offered to market the game alongside the American publisher in Germany. According to Heine, the New York Times weren’t interested in the offer.

Ultimately, The Regional Court of Hamburg (Landgericht Hamburg – LG Hamburg) ruled that the New York Times had no right to the name before it purchased the game, and as such, neither party could justify or prove sole ownership of the trademark.

In the eyes of the German courts, the NYT’s EU trademark and Heine’s German trademark were of “equal seniority.” In simpler terms, the two will have to share the name in Germany as both have equal rights to it.

Stefan Heine considers this a win

Heine has made his living selling simpler puzzle games such as Wordle. He is best known for his Sudoku and Rätsel puzzle books available on Amazon. The Sudoku puzzles in particular are known for catering specifically to hardcore players with some of the most difficult puzzles in the genre.

Speaking to the media, Heine said he wasn’t interested in the money and considered the court ruling a win. “Puzzles have been my passion for 29 years, I want to see good puzzles in the world, and Wordle is a lovely puzzle that is fun,” he said after the ruling.

“I would hope that the New York Times would now come to its senses and recognize that it will not win, or that it listens to me and understands why I did it,” Heine continued.

A spinoff the New York Times can’t take down

The New York Times has sent takedown notices to hundreds of developers who have made their own variants of Wordle. Per 404 Media, who first reported on the takedown notices, the New York Times is going after anyone who uses the name Worlde and anyone who uses the same general idea.

In a statement to 404, the New York Times said that they “have no issue with individuals creating similar word games that do not infringe on The Time’s ‘Wordle’ trademarks or copyrighted gameplay.”

Except in Germany, where the courts say that the publisher has no other choice.

Strands added to The NYT Games App on Android and iOS

The excellent word search game has been publicly available on NYT’s website since June 2024.

The New York Times seems to have another hit on its hands with Strand. The word search game officially launched in June 2024 and has already garnered quite a following. That following is expected to grow as the publisher has added the game to its NYT Games app on iOS and Android.

Strands joins NYT’s other popular games, including Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, and the NYT’s excellent crossword puzzle in both its mini and full configurations. The game’s inclusion in the NYT Games app has already happened. If you have the app installed, check the App Store or Google Play for an update or you can download the app fresh to check out Strands.

“Strands is currently our third most searched game, behind Wordle and Connections,” the paper said in its press release. “Even before joining the NYT Games app, Strands has grown to be nearly as popular as Spelling Bee, our other word game.”

The paper commented on its high completion percentage as well, stating that 83% of players find the Spanogram—the theme word hidden within the puzzle—each day and the completion rate is around 81%. That puts it on par with Mini Crossword and Tiles.

Game Introduction

The game was first introduced in March 2024 in beta where it stayed until its launch in June. So far, it’s been a rousing success for the US publisher, even if some folks have criticized its occasional Gen-Z slang from time to time. Like several other games before it, Strands was created from the NYT’s annual Game Jam event where people pitch game ideas. Once Strands was chosen, the publisher developed with the help of the publisher’s puzzle creators.

How do you play Strands?

For the uninitiated, Strands is a lot like the classic word search game where you find words in a jumble of letters. There are two primary differences with Strands. The first is that each word in the scramble has a theme and one of those words is the theme itself. So, for example, one of today’s Strands themes was “gnaw-it-alls.” Within the puzzle was the word “rodent,” which acted as the theme word for the puzzle. From there, the goal is to find all of the rodent-themed words.

The other big difference is that you use every letter on the board. There are no dead letters and letters don’t repeat, so each letter is part of one of the words. If you happen to find a word that isn’t on the theme list, you’ll earn progress on a hint bar that shows you where one of the words is. The puzzle concludes once every word has been found.

For a few months, the game has only been available on NYT’s website. The website does work on mobile but it’s a lot cleaner and better on the Games app. Once you finish your game, you can also check out your various stats such as how many hints you needed to find everything.

Will Shortz’s Recipe for Post-Stroke Recovery

Table Tennis, Puzzles, and Physical Therapy are what Will Shortz is doing to recover.

The crossword legend suffered a stroke on Feb. 4, 2024, and is still piecing his life back together in the wake of his condition.

Will Shortz has been the editor of The New York Times crossword since 1993. In that time, he’s concocted thousands of puzzles while cementing his legacy among the elite crossword puzzlers of all time. However, for 2024, Shortz had to content with an issue that nearly 800,000 per year suffer. The man had a stroke.

Fortunately, Shortz recovered and has since done many interviews with publications like CNN and Brand and Life. During those interviews, Shortz recounts what it was like to have a stroke. On Feb. 4, 2024, Shortz was sitting at his desk when he leaned to his left and was unable to sit back up straight. Knowing that he was having a stroke, Shortz intended to change his clothes and use the restroom before heading to the hospital. It was in the bathroom when he collapsed.

Shortz would lay on the floor unsure of what to do before he wiggled his way back to his office “like a worm on my back,” he told CNN. From there, he called his partner who came to Shortz’s aid in under three minutes. Once at the hospital, the unthinkable happened. Shortz had a second, larger stroke while awaiting treatment at the hospital. After a treatment with intravenous thrombolytic medication, Shortz eventually recovered.

In the months since Shortz has been on track to recover. The stroke left Shortz with a barely functional left arm and leg along with slurred speech due to left-side weakness.

To combat this, Shortz started physical therapy immediately, which Shortz was happy with. “They get you feeling like you can walk again,” Shortz told Brain and Life. “I was so impressed with their encouragement and the therapy they gave me.”

However, one thing Shortz could not live without was table tennis. Until the stroke, Shortz boasted 4,141 consecutive days of ping pong, a streak his hospital stay broke. To accommodate the crossword legend, the recreation director at the Burke Rehabilitation Hospital had a special setup that used a regular table and books to replace the net so Shortz could continue to play while he worked on his rehab.

Shortz would move to an outpatient facility close to home in March where he continued to do physical therapy six days a week for two to three hours per day. In April, Shortz attended the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in Stamford, CT in a wheelchair, where he received a standing ovation.

In the months since, Shortz has since ditched the wheelchair and can get around reasonably well with a cane. He’s even playing ping pong standing up, although he admits he needs a spotter to keep him from falling over. Recovery is progressing but it’s also slow, which has at times frustrated Shortz but he’s committed to keeping a positive attitude.

“It’s like any time you’re faced with a problem that seems insurmountable or seems very complex,” he told CNN. “The thing to do is just pick one small element of it and work at that. I have always kept working at this, and then I have a new breakthrough.”

Shortz also credits his partner, whom he married last August, for his support during Shortz’s recovery, stating that his partner was sleeping by his bedside nightly while Shortz was in the hospital and has supported the crossword legend during his recove

Mini Crossword on the Spot

New York Times Mini Crossword Creator Joel Fagliano Shows the Internet How Crosswords Are Born

The 17-year veteran of the publisher runs through the creation of a five-by-five crossword in the span of an Instagram Reel

The New York Times is known for its excellent writing, large fan base, and, of course, its crossword puzzle. There are entire books on how the NYT has done its crossword puzzle over its 82-year history, but few are more qualified to talk about it than the people who currently work there. Joel Fagliano, editor of the Mini Crossword, took to an Instagram Reel to show folks how he gets it done.

Fagliano starts his journey by using what he refers to as a “seed answer” that runs across the middle of the five-by-five puzzle. He says that this can be any word that the creator wants whether it’s a theme word or just a word they’ve never used before. In his example, Fagliano uses the word “viral.”

From there, he opts to black out a few squares to make things interesting. He says that the key is not blacking out squares that make your life more difficult. In the example, Joel says that blacking out the two squares under the letter V in viral forces him to come up with a three letter word that ends with the letter V. There aren’t a lot of those so he blacks out the blocks above the V instead.

“Now the thing we usually do when we’re making a puzzle is start with the most constrained areas,” explains Joel. He then creates the word “vow” off of “viral” before continuing onward. This is where things get a little complicated as Joel effortlessly finds a four-letter word starting with “O” and a four-letter word that includes the letters “IK” in the middle. He then repeats this process in the opposite corner.

“One thing that I’m doing that I’m not telling you about—but I’m doing it in my head—is that I’m alternating consonants and vowels,” Joel explains as he fills in the crossword. “That’s really helpful when making a crossword.” Moments later, Fagliano finishes the puzzle.

Four New York Times crosswords by the time he finished high school

Joel Fagliano is quite the puzzle creator. He’s already good enough to have his own Wikipedia page and he works under the legendary NYT Crossword Editor Will Shortz. Fagliano had his first crossword submission published by the Times when he was 17 and four were submitted and published by the time he finished high school. Fagliano would intern for Shortz for three summers before attending college and coming to work at the Times as the editor of the Mini Crossword. The Mini Crossword is featured in the NYT Games app and website along with Wordle, Strands, Spelling Bee, and the full-size crossword puzzle.